6. Joker (FTV)
Hapless clown-for-hire and comedian wannabe descends into madness and finds his true calling as a violent supervillain. What's this, a superhero flick on a horror movie list? But if horror movies frighten us, reflect the violence of a sick society, or show us monsters causing mayhem, then Joker has every right to be on this list. It is telling that the most scary things in this movie were those that were the most recognizable from real life.
Joker posits that monsters are made, not born, a symptom of a relentlessly cruel and uncaring society that gives them no other place to go. The brutal life of Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) has shaped who he has become, and we're not surprised at all when he finally snaps; indeed, there's a sort of sick catharsis to it. Joaquin Phoenix gives the performance of a lifetime, and although the film is decidedly downbeat and dark, there's a certain beauty to it. This is precisely what only cinema can do, and I am glad to see that movies like this can still get made. Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy meets Fight Club.
4 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2019 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. Next of Kin (1982) 4/5 (FTV)
2. I'll Take Your Dead 2/5 (FTV)
3. Nightmare Cinema 4/5 (FTV)
4. Murders in the Zoo 3/5 (FTV)
5. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween 3/5 (FTV)
6. Joker 4/5 (FTV)
Hapless clown-for-hire and comedian wannabe descends into madness and finds his true calling as a violent supervillain. What's this, a superhero flick on a horror movie list? But if horror movies frighten us, reflect the violence of a sick society, or show us monsters causing mayhem, then Joker has every right to be on this list. It is telling that the most scary things in this movie were those that were the most recognizable from real life.
Joker posits that monsters are made, not born, a symptom of a relentlessly cruel and uncaring society that gives them no other place to go. The brutal life of Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) has shaped who he has become, and we're not surprised at all when he finally snaps; indeed, there's a sort of sick catharsis to it. Joaquin Phoenix gives the performance of a lifetime, and although the film is decidedly downbeat and dark, there's a certain beauty to it. This is precisely what only cinema can do, and I am glad to see that movies like this can still get made. Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy meets Fight Club.
4 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2019 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. Next of Kin (1982) 4/5 (FTV)
2. I'll Take Your Dead 2/5 (FTV)
3. Nightmare Cinema 4/5 (FTV)
4. Murders in the Zoo 3/5 (FTV)
5. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween 3/5 (FTV)
6. Joker 4/5 (FTV)